Mechanical toy



C. KREUTZER MECHANICAL TOY Dec. 8, 1942.

Filed Aug. 6, 1942 INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MECHANICAL TOY Casper Kreutzer, Milltown, N. J.

Application August 6, 1942, Serial No. 453,786

9 Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to mechanical toys; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel toy provided with a mechanically actuated figure adapted to be moved relative to a suitably pictured enviromnent.

The invention has for an object to provide a toy having a movable figure and a stationary front portion simulating an appropriate pictured environment and having a suitably disposed opening or openings through which said movable guiding the figure, and means to automatically move the figure back and forth on said guide means.

The invention has for a more specific object to provide a simply constructed mechanical toy of the character above referred to, comprising a casing having a front wall provided with an outer exposed face suitably printed or lithographed to simulate, at least in part, the appearance of a room fireplace and its chimney, and including an opening in the fireplace picture, means being provided within the casing for supporting and guiding a figure (representative of Santa Claus) for descending and ascending movements within the casing, whereby the figure, at the limit of its descending movement, is visible through said opening in the fireplace picture, and means being further provided for automatically producing alternated descending and ascending movements of the figure, whereby to provide the il- .10 figure may be exposed, together with means for lusion of descent and ascent of Santa Claus through the chimney to and from the fireplace.

Another object of the invention is to further include, in the face wall design of the toy casing, a depiction of a building roof through which the fireplace chimney appears to emerge, and a depiction of a reindeer drawn sleigh upon the roof, adjacent to which the casing face wall is provided with a second opening through which the Santa Claus figure is in part visible upon completion of its ascending movement, whereby to provide the.illusion of Santa Claus leaving and entering the sleigh prior to descent and subsequent to ascent through the chimney to and from the fireplace.

The invention has for a further object to provide, in a toy of the kind described, upper and lower driving means to which pull cables respectively extend from the figure, one said driving means being driven through releasable clutch means by a clock-work motor and the other being driven by stored energy of a drive spring or equivalent means, and clutch control means being provided adapted to be actuated on completion of the respective movements of the figure, whereby to effect alternated operation of the respective drive means, thereby to automatically reverse the descending and ascending movements of the figure on completion thereof.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exterior front face View of the toy casing; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the toy, taken on line 22 in Fig. 3; and Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View of the toy, taken on line 33 in Fig. 2. Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawing, the toy according to the invention includes a hollow casing formed by top and bottom walls I and 2, side walls 3 and front and back walls 4 and 5, all joined together in any suitable manner. In the illustrative embodiment of the toy, as shown, the outer face of the front wall 4 is suitably printed or lithographed to provide on its lower portion the depiction of a room fireplace 5 and the chimney 6 leading upwardly therefrom. Said front wall 4 is cut away to provide a lower opening 1 formed within the area of the back of the depicted fireplace. Preferably, the upper portion of the front wall face is printed or lithographed to provide the depiction of a building roof 8 and an exterior portion 9 of the chimney, and additionally with the depiction of a reindeer drawn sleigh I 0. Said front wall is additionally cut away to provide an upper opening Ill above and contiguous to the sleigh picture. Said opening I0 may be glazed with transparent material HI" if desired.

Arranged within the interior of the casing, to extend vertically between the top and bottom walls I and 2 thereof and spaced behind the front wall 4 and its lower and upper openings 7 and I0, is a guide means, preferably comprising a pair of laterally spaced perpendicular guide rods II, the upper and lower ends of which are suitably afiixed to the top and bottom walls I and 2 of said casing.

Slidably supported by said guide rods II, for descending and ascending movements thereon, is a carriage member [2, having slide loops l3 to embrace the respective guide rods. Suitably connected with said carriage member 12, so as to be carried thereby, is a figure member I 4 the front face of which is suitably printed or lithographed to depict a Santa Claus of conventional appearance. Preferably, the means for connecting the figure member M to the carriage member I2 includes elastically flexible means, so that the figure, when moved up and down, will likewise be vibrated or agitated to a limited extent, whereby to increase the effect of life-like movements thereof. An illustrative form of connection of such kind comprises a stud I5 anchored to the carriage member I2 for forward projection therefrom, to which stud is in turn anchored a forwardly and freely projecting spring shank I6, to the free end of which the figure member I4 is suitably affixed.

Within the lower interior portion of the casing is mounted lower driving means for producing descending movement of the carriage member l2, and the figure member l4 carried thereby. This lower driving means comprises a transverse shaft I'I journaled in and between bearings l8 afiixed to the casing bottom wall 2; said shaft being disposed behind but adjacent to the guide rods II. Loosely mounted on said shaft H, to turn freely thereon, is a lower reel or drum IS; the same being retained against shifting displacement between collars 20 which are affixed to the shaft. Upon said reel or drum I9 winds a lower pull cable 2! which is arranged to extend to the carriage member I2; to a lower attachment lug 22, with which the latter is provided, said pull cable is attached. Said reel or drum I9 is provided with a laterally projecting crank arm 23. Slidably mounted on said shaft H, but suitably keyed thereto so as to turn therewith, is an annularly grooved clutch member 24 provided with a laterally projecting thrust piece 25. Said shaft I1 is suitably coupled with a clock-work or spring motor 2s which is mounted within the casing, preferably in affixed relation to a side wall 3 of the latter, through which exteriorly projects a manipulatable winding key 21 for winding the power spring (not shown) of said clock-work or spring motor.

Within the upper interior portion of said casing is mounted an upper driving means for producing ascending movement of the carriage member l2, and the figure member M carried thereby. This upper driving means comprises a transverse shaft 28 journaled in and between bearings 29 affixed to the casing top wall I; said shaft being also disposed behind but adjacent to the guide rods II. Afiixed to said shaft 28, so as to turn therewith, is an upper reel or drum 30. Upon said reel or drum 30 winds an upper pull cable 3! which is arranged to extend to the carriage member [2; to an upper attachment lug 32, with which the latter is provided, said pull cable is attached. Said shaft 28 and the reel or drum 3!] is rotated in cable winding direction by the stored tension of a power spring 33 which is helically wound around the shaft; one end of said spring being anchored to a fixed point, as e. g., by attachment to a bearing 29, and the other end of said spring being affixed to the reel or drum 30.

Means to automatically engage and release the clutch member 25 relative to the lower reel or drum I9. is provided and arranged so as to be actuated by the carriage member I2, as it reaches the upper and lower limits of its figure member carrying movements. In an illustrative form thereof, as shown, said means comprises a clutch shift lever, fulcrumed on a fixed pivot 34, and providing a lower arm 35 and an upper arm 36.

The extremity 31 of the lower arm 35 is engaged in the annular groove of the clutch member 24. The lower arm 35 of said shift lever is provided with a suitably shaped and located lower cam projection 38, and the upper arm 33 of said shaft lever is likewise provided with a similar suitably shaped and located upper cam projection 39. Said shift lever is disposed adjacent to the path of descending and ascending travel of the carriage member I2 on the guide rods H. The carriage member I2 is provided with an angular extension iil adapted to engage, at proper times, the shift lever cam projections 38 and 35.

When the figure member I4 and its carriage member I? are disposed at the upper limit of.

movement, the figure l4 appears through the opening Iii and behind the depiction of the sleigh i0, thus providing the illusion that Santa Claus is seated in the sleigh (see Fig. l) When thus occupying such upper limit of motion, the extension 40 of the carriage member l2 engages the cam projection 39 of the shift lever 35-3B so as to swing the latter clockwise, and thereby move the clutch member 26 into driving relation to the lower reel or drum I9 (see Fig.2). Assuming that, under these circumstances, the clock-work or spring motor is wound up so as to transmit power to the lower shaft ii, thereupon said shaft is rotated to in turn rotate the clutch member 24 in a direction which (as shown) is anti-clockwise. As the clutch member revolves, its thrust piece 25 engages the crank arm 23 of the reel or drum I9, and thus revolves the latter so as to draw down and wind up thereupon the pull cable 2|. The down pulling motion of the pull cable 2! is transmitted to the carriage member I2, whereby the same, and the figure member I 4 carried thereby, is caused to slide downward on the guide rods II. Such descent of the figure member causes the same to disappear from behind the upper opening II! and consequently furnishes the illusion of Santa Claus leaving the sleigh II! for descent through the chimney, until upon arrival of the figure member at its lower limit of movement, the same is disclosed through the lower opening I, and Santa Claus appears to arrive and stand within the fireplace 5.

As the carriage member I2 is moved downward on the guide rods II, the upper pull cable 3i is pulled down so that in unwinding from the upper reel or drum 30 it imparts rotary movement thereto and to its shaft 28, thereby winding the spring 33 so as to induce torsional tension therein, and thus store energy for later rotating said reel or drum 38 in direction to Wind up the pull cable 3!.

As the carriage member reaches the limit of its descending movement, its extension 40 is carried into engagement with the cam projection 38 of the shift lever 35- 36 so as to swing the latter anti-clockwise, thus shifting the clutch member 24 so as to release the lower reel or drum I9. Upon this occurrencejthe stored energy of the spring 33 becomes effective'upon the upper reel or drum 3i! and its shaft 28, thereby revolving the reel or drum 3E} clockwise, and thus winding up the pull cable 3!. The upward pull of the cable 3! effects an ascending movement of the carriage member I 2 and the figure member I4, so that the latter disappears upwardly out of the fireplace, and reappears through the upper opening l0 behind the sleigh I0, thereby appearing to have ascended the chimney and again reentered said sleigh In.

As the carriage member again reaches its upper limit of movement, its extension 60 again rides into engagement with the cam projection 39 of the shift lever 35-36, thereby swinging the latter anti-clockwise, and thus again throwing the clutch member 24 into operative driving relation to the lower reel or drum l9, whereupon the above described operations are repeated, until the power of the clockwork or spring motor 25 is exhausted and required to be rewound.

While I have described the clutch driven reel or drum as operated by a lower clocklwork or spring motor shaft and the upper reel or drum as operated by the spring 33, such arrangement may be reversed so that the former is located within the upper end of the casing and the latter within the lower end of said casing.

In order to accompany the action of the toy with audible sound suggestive of sleigh bells, a bell 4! is supported upon a spring arm 42 adjacent to an end of one of the shafts (e. g. the shaft 28 as shown). Said spring arm 42 is provided at its free end with an angular extension 43. Afiixed to the shaft end is an angular striker arm 44 adapted to be revolved thereby. As the striker arm 44 revolves, it moves into and out of contact with the extension 43 of the spring arm 42, thereby agitating the same, and thus imparting motion to the bell so as to efiect sounding of the same in company with the descending and ascending movements of the Santa Claus figure.

While I have described the make-up of the mechanical toy of this invention in a form thereof wherein the figure member represents a Santa Claus arranged for descending and ascending movements relative to a simulated fireplace and its chimney, it will be obvious that figures and backgrounds simulative of characters other than Santa Claus and in different environments may optionally be employed for actuation by the novel movement controlling mechanism according to this invention.

Various changes in the devices and detail parts of the toy could be made without departing from the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims. It is therefore intended that all matter shown in the accompanying drawing and described in the preceding specification shall be considered as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A mechanical toy comprising a stationary front portion, the external face of which bears depiction of a selected environment, said front portion having at least one opening therethrough, guide means fixed behind said front portion and said opening, a figure member slidably mounted on said guide means for back and forth movements thereon toward and from said opening, power means to cause movement of the figure member in one direction, a second power means to cause movement of the figure member in the opposite direction, and means actuated by the arrival of the figure member at limits of its said movements adapted to automatically control said respective power means so as to effect alternated operation thereof.

2. A mechanical toy comprising a stationary front portion, the external face of which bears depiction of a selected environment, said front portion having at least one opening therethrough, guide means fixed behind said front portion and said opening, a figure member slidably mounted on said guide means for back and forth movements thereon toward and from said opening, a rotatable reel adjacent to one limit of movement of said figure member having a pull cable attached to the latter, a power driven shiftable clutch cooperative with said reel, a second reel adjacent to the other limit of movement of said figure member also having a pull cable attached to the latter, a torsional spring for driving said second reel, and clutch shift means adapted to be actuated, by arrival of the figure member at limits of its movements, whereby to automatically engage and disengage said clutch with said first mentioned reel to effect alternated operation of said respective reels.

3. A mechanical toy comprising a stationary front portion, the external face of which bears depiction of a selected environment, said front portion having at least one opening therethrough, guide means fixed behind said front portion and said opening, a figure member slidablymounted on said guide means for back and forth movements thereon toward and from said opening, a power driven shaft adjacent to one limit of movement of said figure member, a shiftable clutch keyed on said shaft so as to be driven thereby, a reel rotatable on said shaft, a pull cable attached between said reel and figure member, said clutch and reel having cooperative means engageable to drive the latter from the former whereby to wind said cable to move the figure member in one direction, a second shaft adjacent to the other limit of movement of said figure member, a second reel on said latter shaft, a second pull cable attached between said figure member and said second reel, torsional spring means adapted to be tensioned by cable unwinding rotation of said second reel whereby to store energy for rotating the latter in cable winding direction so as to move said figure member in the other direction, and clutch shift means adapted to be actuated by arrival of the figure member at limits of its said movements whereby to automatically engage and disengage said clutch to effect alternated operation of the respective reels.

4. A mechanical toy as defined by claim 1, wherein the external face of the front portion thereof bears depiction of a fireplace and its chimney, the opening of said front portion being registered with the back of the fireplace picture, and wherein the figure member bears depiction of a Santa Claus.

5. A mechanical toy as defined by claim 2, wherein the external face of the front portion thereof bears depiction of a fireplace and its chimney, the opening of said front portion being registered with the back of the fireplace picture, and wherein the figure member bears depiction of a Santa Claus.

6. In a mechanical toy as defined by claim 3, wherein the external face of the front portion thereof bears depiction of a fireplace and its chimney, the opening of said front portion being registered with the back of the fireplace picture, and wherein the figure member bears a depiction of a Santa Claus.

7, A mechanical toy as defined by claim 1, wherein the lower portion of the external face of the front portion bears depiction of a fireplace and its chimney, said front portion having a lower opening registered wvith the back of the fireplace picture through which the figure member is exposed when disposed at its lower limit of movement, and wherein the upper portion of the external face of said front portion bears depiction of a building roof and superposed pictured reindeer drawn sleigh, said front portion having a second opening above the sleigh pic ture through which the figure member is in part exposed when disposed at its upper limit of movement, and wherein the figure member bears depiction of a Santa Claus.

8. A mechanical toy as defined by claim 2, wherein the lower portion of the external face of the front portion bears depiction of a fireplace and its chimney, said front portion having a lower opening registered with the back of the fireplace picture through which the figure member is exposed when disposed at its lower limit of movement, and wherein the upper portion of the external face of said front portion bears depiction of a building roof and superposed pictured reindeer drawn sleigh, said front portion having a second opening above the sleigh picture through which the figure member is in part exposed when disposed at its upper limit of movement, and wherein the figure member bears depiction of a Santa Claus.

9. A mechanical toy as defined by claim 3, wherein the lower portion of the external face of the front portion bears depiction of a fireplace and its chimney, said front portion having a lower opening registered with the back of the fireplace picture through which the figure member is exposed when disposed at its lower limit of movement, and wherein the upper portion of the external face of said front portion bears depiction of a building roof and superposed pictured reindeer drawn sleigh, said front portion having a second opening above the sleigh picture through which the figure member is in part exposed when disposed at its upper limit of movement, and wherein the figure member bears depiction of a Santa Claus.

CASPER IQ-EUTZER. 

